Letters to the Editor, June 4

Bicycles fill a designated Caltrain car bound for San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015. Ridership is at an all-time high with trains frequently filled beyond their capacity.

Bicycles fill a designated Caltrain car bound for San Francisco,...

I’m concerned about Caltrain’s intention not to increase capacity for bicycles on Caltrain’s upcoming electrified system. I commute via bicycle and Caltrain to San Francisco daily for work. I really appreciate the service that Caltrain provides; I get exercise commuting to the train station and I have an opportunity to relax and catch up on work when on the train. Passengers with bicycles are Caltrain’s fastest-growing customer segment and commuting via Caltrain and bicycle is a great way to get exercise, reduce our impact on the environment and avoid the stress and wasted time of driving. Although I understand that Caltrain must balance the needs of all passengers, both with and without bicycles, I feel like passengers with bicycles are being done a disservice by Caltrain’s not planning for their inevitable increase in ridership over the coming years.

Instances where passengers with bicycles will be denied boarding because the bicycle car is full (bumps) will become more frequent over the years. Caltrain has the ability to foresee this inconvenience and to correct it in advance. If Caltrain could increase bicycle capacity by 20 percent to accommodate growing demand, both current and future bicycle-equipped passengers would greatly appreciate it.

Daniel Golden, Palo Alto

More firearms

Regarding “No more guns” (Letters, June 2): Excuse me, but what country do you live in? This is America. Every kook has a gun. In my humble opinion, if you take away guns from policemen, you are killing them. The only way to save yourself from a gun is a gun. I love policemen. They never get the benefit of the doubt these days.

Randy Hansen, Aptos

Turning point

Regarding “Senate votes to curb government surveillance tactics” (June 3): Since the scaling back of our national security policy constitutes a cultural turning point for the nation that began with the revelations by Edward Snowden, isn’t it time we welcome Snowden back to the U.S. and thank him for his courage?

Bob Roden, Berkeley

Military complex

The so-called Freedom Act bill further poisons our democracy by allowing access to our private phone calls and e-mails by merely keeping them one step removed from our voracious National Security apparatus.

With so many contractors and employees holding top secret security clearances that costs billions, they have got to keep inventing reasons for their bullying and continued existence.

Like Former President George W. Bush’s color coded security alerts, their main tactic is to make us afraid by using faulty risk analysis that pretend we are much more vulnerable than we really are.

Of course, Congress is either too gullible or too ignorant of the workings of actual probabilities to deny the military anything less than the 50 percent of our federal discretionary budget they feed upon with great waste and damage to our democracy. Democracies have collapsed and given away to authoritarian regimes during this century, many due to the reckless operations of the CIA and the National Security establishment. Sens. Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders are right on this one. We should pay attention.

Alex Easton-Brown, Lagunitas

Your decision

Regarding “Senate OKs bills to reduce smoking” (June 3): SB140 regulating e-cigarettes is a sound idea, however, SB151 raising the smoking age is a waste of time and insults the intelligence of California’s young adults. It sounds trite but it’s true; if you can be trusted to reason enough vote and volunteer yourself to go to war at 18-years-old, you should be able to decide whether or not to smoke. The drinking age is 21, and I am hard pressed to think of anyone who didn’t first drink long before then.

Nicholas Meeder, Chico

Homeless focus

Regarding “Take back the city” (June 3): Carl Nolte is a brave man bringing to the forefront one of the most vexing challenges for this city; its homeless population and its impact on this city’s streets. Heading down Market Street each morning is a tough way to start the day. The street is littered with the remains of overturned trash cans, human waste and masses of scattered newspapers and assorted garbage.

Property maintenance people using high pressure hoses and lots of water busily clean the fronts of their buildings in anticipation of the morning commute. There is no sign of city sanitation workers, police or representatives of the mayor’s office looking to help. It would seem the challenge of the homeless would merit much more discussion than all the attention being spent by grown people on the dietary challenges of soft drinks and the dangers they present to the city. With so many visitors to San Francisco, one would hope we might want to show our city in its best light.

Joe Mandato, San Francisco

Blatter relief

Last week, the FIFA President Sepp Blatter was defiant about not resigning but now, shortly after his re-election, he has done the right thing. Thank goodness FIFA and those who care have finally found some Blatter relief.

Jay Schulman, San Rafael

Crime prevention

When I was a badge member of the Alameda County Sheriff/Crime Prevention Unit, we operated under a grant from the state.

A member from the state would meet with our division on a quarterly basis to ascertain that we in fact met the grant requirements. If we did not fulfill our obligations, the grant would be terminated. All financial records had to reflect where and why each dollar was spent. Consequently, our crime prevention unit functioned smoothly. Why then, wasn’t this type of system implemented for the city of Oakland?